Don’t Miss Out

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Connect with us

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Sign up now for the latest news, top picks for your kids, and helpful tips.

What parents need to know

Some careless gun handling and reckless driving on Blackbeard's part, as well as some rum-drinking, cheating, and gambling. A coach sacrifices his principles so his team can win by underhanded means.

Violence & scariness

Some rowdiness and comical fighting with an invisible adversary.

Sexy stuff

Not applicable

Language

Not applicable

Consumerism

Not applicable

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Blackbeard drinks rum.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie uses a well-worn formula recycled from some of Disney's better pictures, notably The Absent Minded Professor. But if you don't mind the retread -- and kids will love it -- the characters are charming and there are funny bits. As a ghost, Blackbeard is about as frightening as Casper with a sword. Don't let the word "ghost" deter grade-school kids. Old Blackbeard isn't very scary or threatening, but he does on occasion set an improper example by drinking, carousing, and cheating. The allure of pirates and the wholesomeness of Disney are a good pairing for preteens and older kids. As far as adult entertainment goes, it's passable, but works best in the company of young ones.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

While lodging at the shabby landmark Blackbeard's Inn, Godolphin College's new track coach, Steve Walker (Dean Jones), discovers a spell that releases the pirate's ghost (Peter Ustinov) from 200 years in limbo. As luck would have it, only Walker can see him, which leads to some hard-to-explain mix-ups with the police, the college faculty, and Professor Jo Anne Baker (Suzanne Pleshette), who thinks the coach is nuts but is attracted to him anyway. In order for his rum-guzzling spirit to be put to rest, Blackbeard must perform a single act of charity. Here's an idea: Why not save the beloved old inn from falling into the clutches of Silky Seymour and his thugs, who want it torn down to build a casino on the property?

Is it any good?

QUALITY

A losing track team. A real-estate-hungry villain. A man of strong moral fiber who, purely by chance, comes up with a miraculous way to make everything right. If the formula sounds all too familiar, it's because Disney veteran Robert Stevenson has basically remade his own 1961 great The Absent-Minded Professor by taking out the Flubber and putting in a dead pirate.

As Blackbeard's ghost, Peter Ustinov anything but frightening. He's just "a big ugly booze-soaked rummy," and something of a crybaby, too. Far more menacing is casino-owner Silky Seymour (Joby Baker), who's oilier and more enjoyably sinister than most live-action Disney villains of the era. Dean Jones is very agreeable, if a bit short-tempered, as the poor sap who gets caught in the middle of everything, and love interest Suzanne Pleshette is also quite charming.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about what they think of Blackbeard. He is a pirate, but does that excuse him from stealing, cheating, and destroying police property? And what of Coach Walker, who's opposed to Blackbeard's supernatural dallying at the track meet, yet allows it, even encourages it, albeit for the greater good?

About our buy links

When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

Blackbeard the Now Friendly Ghost

Don't you tell your kids not to drink? I'm sure you do, so what's too bad with a film where that's basically only the inappropriate thing in it? This movie has a message that may go over some kids' heads, but is not metioned here. That message is that sometimes people redeem themselves after past actions and that shows their character.

Movie recommendations for your kids right to your inbox

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Our Policies

Download our free app

Common Sense is the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to empowering kids to thrive in a world of media and technology. Families, educators, and policymakers turn to
Common Sense for unbiased information and trusted advice to help them learn how to harness the positive power of media and technology for all kids.

The Common Sense and Common Sense Media names, associated trademarks, and logos, including the Decider Slider and Age Ratings Bugs,
are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).